Daily TelegraphMadeleine McCann's parents to sue former Portuguese police chiefMadeleine McCann's parents are to sue the former Portuguese police chief, Goncalo Amaral, who led the search for their daughter.
By Ben Leach
Published: 7:50PM BST 16 May 2009
The McCanns took the decision to try to prevent further publication of Mr Amaral's book and documentary Photo: PA
Kate and Gerry McCann are to take action over comments Mr Amaral has made in the media about Madeleine's disappearance.
In a statement annoucing the defamation action, they said: "We - together with our three children Madeleine, Sean and Amelie - are taking this legal action against Goncalo Amaral over his entirely unfounded and grossly defamatory claims -made in all types of media, both within Portugal and beyond - that Madeleine is not only dead, but that we, her parents, were somehow involved in concealing her body."
The decision was taken to try to prevent further publication of Mr Amaral's "deeply offensive" book The Truth of the Lie, his television documentary and his "disgraceful thesis" that the parents are involved in their daughter's disappearance.
The statement continued: "The primary reason for our legal action is simple: to stop any negative effect that these absurd and deeply hurtful claims may be having on the ongoing search for Madeleine.
"We can no longer stand back and watch as Mr Amaral tries to convince the entire world that Madeleine is dead.
"Nor can we allow this blatant injustice to Madeleine, with its obvious risk of hindering our attempts to find her, to continue.
"Mr Amaral's entirely unjustified claims have not only brought indescribable devastation and suffering to our lives, they have hugely compounded the already immense pain and anxiety we have endured since Madeleine's abduction."
Mr Amaral, 49, who was moved off the inquiry after five months and is now retired, last year published a book about the case.
In an article in the French newspaper Le Parisien earlier this month he accused Kate and Gerry McCann of covering up the truth despite the fact they were officially cleared by police.
After leaving the Policia Judiciaria he hired an agent who said interviews with the invesigator would cost 80,000 Euros (£71,000).
